1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to child safety locks and, more particularly, to rear door child safety locks which can be actuated and deactuated remotely from the operator console.
2. Discussion
The use of child safety locks in a vehicle is well known. In order to prevent a child from opening a rear door from within the vehicle, many vehicles come equipped with a latch mechanism which when actuated disables operation of the interior door latch, thereby preventing a child from opening the rear door from within the vehicle. When the safety lock mechanism has been actuated, the rear door may only be opened from outside the vehicle.
Currently, child safety locks installed on existing vehicles utilize mechanical latches which are generally located on the door jam of the rear passenger doors. When the child safety locks are activated, the child safety locks effectively disable the rear passenger interior door latches, preventing them from being opened from the interior of the vehicle.
The use of child safety locks sometimes proves inconvenient when children and adults intermittently use vehicle back seats. Specifically, with the child safety locks activated, adults cannot be let out of the car until the rear door is opened from outside the vehicle. If the safety mechanism has not been switched from the deactivated position, such a situation proves inconvenient to both the driver and passengers alike. The driver or front seat passenger must exit the vehicle and open the rear door to enable the rear passengers to exit the vehicle.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a remotely activated child safety lock.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a control module for actuating and deactuating the child safety locks.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an electronically actuated mechanism for activating and deactivating the child safety locks.